


Asylum

by Transformersfan123



Category: 9 (2009)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-10
Updated: 2018-01-10
Packaged: 2019-03-03 06:21:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,336
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13335285
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Transformersfan123/pseuds/Transformersfan123
Summary: They don't know about the Before Time. They just know they weren't always together. But when Jasper sends Joshua to them, they start finding out where they were before the bombs went off, what happened in their lives, and why they all succumbed to what they discover was One's fantasy all along. It's not a fantasy anymore, though. They are family, but can they take the truth?





	Asylum

One watched the boy curiously. He was standing there stiffly, golden eyes glaring hotly at Zero. Zero's hands were out and he was speaking gently.

"Joshua, please. Try them."

There was silence, during which One and Six glanced at each other. Zero sighed deeply.

"I demand that you try them."

More silence, and One saw tears brimming in the boy's eyes. Zero's face softened.

"Joshua, none of you are. That doesn't mean it doesn't hurt, though. They can help you. One is good with this sort of thing. Please. Please try."

Joshua shook his head fiercely, and Zero growled. "Fine. I'll be right back with your medicine, Six."

Joshua turned his glare to One and Six. Six shrank back, but One boldly crossed his arms and met his eyes.

"Joshua, eh?" Silence. "If Zero wants you to try us, I suggest you do so."

_~I have never belonged with you.~_

Six blinked. "Never? So we've met you before?"

One's eyes took in the twitch of facial muscles. _~If you have, you don't remember it.~_

"Why not?"

_~Because One's perfect little world started when you got here. I didn't fit in, so I left when society was blown to smithereens.~_

"What perfect little world?" One asked.

Joshua stared evenly at him. _~I know where the scar on your stomach came from. I know where_ you _came from. I know where everybody came from.~_

"So you know about the Before Time," Six said reverently. "You must tell us!"

"That…isn't a good idea," Zero said, handing Six the pills.

"Why not?" One asked.

"I…Please, Joshua, go with them," Zero said, looking at the boy and ignoring the question.

_~They don't want me.~_

"Isn't that for us to decide?" One asked immediately. Joshua shrugged, and One strode forward, reaching over. The strange boy snagged him, eyes flashing in anger.

_~Do NOT touch me, One.~_

One withdrew. "I think we'll take you. Thank you, Zero, for the medication."

Zero embraced him and whispered hurriedly. "Whatever any of you do, _don't_ call him Nine."

One nodded sharply then led Six and Joshua out of the hospital into the silent world. Joshua was nimble, scrambling over rocks and ruins as easily as Seven, his eyes scanning for danger as well. One and Six watched him.

_~He seems as strong as Seven.~_ Six said softly.

_~Hopefully he doesn't share her temper.~_ One replied. _~We'll just have to see.~_

Joshua jumped down from the crumbling outer wall of a building, eyes gleaming. _~You shouldn't talk about me like I'm not here. That's rude.~_

One blinked. "I just realized something. You aren't speaking out loud."

Joshua's cheeks tinted red, and he rubbed his throat, looking humiliated. One stopped Six from asking the question, lightly taking the boy's hand and patting it twice before it was jerked back violently.

_~I told you not to touch me.~_

With that, Joshua turned and stormed off…in the right direction.

"There is more to that boy than meets the eye, One," Six said analytically.

"Yes. He apparently knows where he is going…" One murmured.

And when they got to the hidden entrance to their underground home, Joshua was sitting there writing in a notebook. He finished the sentence he was working on then put the notebook into his backpack, slinging it on.

_~Well?~_

One led him down, opening the door to find the others talking. Seven and Eight stood up when they saw Joshua.

"Who's that, Boss?" Eight demanded, cracking his knuckles.

"This is Joshua. Zero thinks it wise that he live with us for a while."

"Why?" Seven asked, glaring at him.

_~To make your God-forsaken lives miserable.~_ Joshua said crossly.

"Whatsa matter? You mute?" Seven asked. Silence as Joshua's cheeks colored again.

"Aw, don't worry about it, Nine," Eight said. "The twins are—"

There was a scream of agony, and suddenly Eight was on the ground, blood staining his arm. Hellfire shone from Joshua's eyes, the knife in his hand gleaming with red. Seven lunged forward. He punched her in the face. She stumbled back, tripped over Eight, and hit the ground hard. One grabbed Joshua's wrist.

"Enough! What is the meaning of this?!"

_~I will kill the next person who calls me Nine.~_

Seven sat up to reveal her nose was bleeding. She pinched it. "Is that a threat?"

_~No, bitch, that's a promise. And I told you not to touch me, One. Twice now.~_

One released him. "Go to my room. Now. No doubt, you know which one it is."

Joshua rinsed his knife off in the bathroom then went to sit on One's soft, soft bed. Mm, would he mind if…

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Arms were wrapped around him. Warm arms that promised safety. He pressed close, humming in delight…only it wasn't a hum that came out. It was a broken, grinding noise that scared him badly. Tears of humiliation slipped down his cheeks as he struggled from One's grip. One let him go and sat up as Joshua crumpled on the other side of the bed. The poor red-eyed male didn't know what to do, so he lightly touched his hand. It didn't jerk away, so One held it, knowing it was all he would be allowed to touch. One sat there, squeezing his reassurance every once in a while, until Joshua had stopped crying.

"You weren't always mute, were you?"

Joshua shrugged listlessly, wiping his cheeks.

"It's okay that you are. The twins are, too."

_~Yes, by trauma. They could speak again if they wanted to. I am never going to speak out loud again. I can't.~_

One paused. "You really do know what happened in the Before Time, don't you?"

_~I do.~_

"Will you tell us?"

_~No.~_

"Will you tell me?"

_~No.~_

"Will you tell me what happened to the world?"

Joshua studied him. _~I see no harm in that.~_

"Will you tell everybody?"

_~Sure.~_

"Come on. Smells like supper's ready."

Joshua stood and walked out with One. It was venison steak, and Eight happily gave one to everybody but the newcomer. One gave him a look, but Joshua simply walked over to his backpack and pulled out some jerky. He sat off in a corner, a blank look on his face as he stared at the floor. The others felt bad for him. They could tell he was used to being the odd one out. Eight pulled out the plate he'd hidden and walked over to offer it to the boy.

"Here."

Joshua hesitantly took the plate, which he set beside him. He reached into his backpack and held out a bottle. The group stared at it in shock. Two set his cup and plate down and ran over, snagging it.

"Where in the hell did you find Tylenol?" he demanded.

Joshua reached in again and pulled out Aspirin, Hydrocodone, and Finnegrin. Two looked ready to explode in joy.

"Ooh! Where did you find these?!"

_~I know where to look for them.~_

"Do you have Lortab?" Five asked teasingly.

Joshua stared at him then pulled out another bottle. _~No. I have Vicadin. But I could get Lortab if you want.~_

Silence. Joshua began to eat rather messily, as Eight hadn't given him silverware, but nobody could move to give it to him. To have even Tylenol was a miracle. But _Vicadin?!_ Even Zero didn't have access to that. Morphine, yes, but not Vicadin. Two knelt down and reached for Joshua's bag, but green surrounded his hand. Joshua was still eating, but his sharp golden eyes were drilling into Two's deep blue ones.

_~Don't do it. You will regret it.~_

"What else do you have in there? Any more medicines?"

_~I'm eating. You should, too.~_

"But I need to know—"

One cleared his throat. "Joshua's right. Eat. And Joshua? Use silverware."

_~I don't have any.~_

One handed him some, but he snorted and finished the way he'd started. One was irritated now. Once he'd washed his face and hands, he went back to his corner, pulled out his notebook, and began to write, curled up tightly.

"He's uncomfortable about being around us," Two murmured. Five was frowning. "Five? What's wrong?"

"I…I just…I think I _know_ him. But I can't…can't quite…" Five's face scrunched up and he walked over and plopped down right in front of him. Joshua looked up at him. They stared at each other for about a minute then Joshua went back to writing. The others stared. The sight of Five sitting like that with…

"Why don't you want us to call you Nine?" Six asked.

_~I'm not talking about that. Don't ask again.~_

"So we're not supposed to call you Nine, but we can't know why?" Seven asked.

_~Get over it.~_

"He doesn't have to talk about why we can't call him Nine. Yet," One said. "What he has said he will tell us is how the world got this way."

Joshua found himself being stared at by eight eager sets of eyes. He was clearly uncomfortable, but shoved it down.

_~Over five hundred bombs went off, causing worldwide floods and earthquakes. Volcanos went off, luckily none of the super ones or we would be dead. The bombs were designed to cause everything from sickness to explosions. The ones that went off around here caused mostly explosions, but also a virus that made people cannibals. We were safe, though.~_

"How?" One asked.

_~You believed Six and forced Zero to fence off the asylum. When the explosions happened, all of the other doctors and patients were moved, but not us because you wouldn't let us. And you wouldn't let us because Six was having convulsions about dying if we left.~_

There was a very long, drawn out silence then Two laughed hard.

"We weren't in an asylum!"

_~Fine. Don't call it an asylum. Call it a crazy house. Call it a hospital. But we were there.~_

"No, we weren't," Eight growled.

Joshua set his notebook aside and crawled right up to Five. He gently traced a scar right below his eyepatch and Five cringed violently, grabbing his head. Two was there in an instant, pushing Joshua back. Five's one, emerald green eye was wide, the pupil dilated.

"What's wrong?" Two asked gently.

"My…my brain hurts…"

There was more silence until Joshua resumed writing. _~See? All of you have had your brains hurt to the level that Five is experiencing. The hospital Zero lives in was a very special government experiment. The people who put us in there received a very handsome sum of money for every week they kept us in there. They were trying to cure us. Little did they know they just had to keep One's little illusion up and presto! Instant cure! Well, for all of you. I'm not crazy.~_

Nobody knew what to say. One finally snorted. "We are no crazier than you, Joshua."

_~What's your name then? And I don't mean your number. I mean the name you were given when you were born.~_

"I…My name is…Um…" One's cheeks flushed as he wracked his brain for a name, _any_ name. But… "I…I don't know." He sounded so defeated.

_~Anybody?~_

Silence. Nobody looked at him. Their eyes were glued on the floor. Joshua sat there, staring at them with his golden eyes until Five sniffled.

"Joshua? What's my name?"

_~I'm not telling you.~_

"Why not?"

_~Your name is connected with your identity before the asylum. There's a good chance that if I tell you your name, you'll remember why you were in the asylum to begin with, and…~_

"And?" One asked.

_~There was a reason you eight went to an asylum.~_

"Will you tell us eventually?"

_~If I think you can handle it, yes.~_

"How do we prove that?"

_~I'm not sure.~_

"Well…It's time to get ready for bed."

Six sat by Joshua when Five went to bathe. "My name is Zebulon Summers. If I wanted to, I could remember why I was there. But I'd need help. Would you be willing to help me?"

_~Out of all of you, you and Seven don't want to remember the most.~_

"You're a good boy, Nine…I mean Joshua."

Joshua looked defeated, tears of pain in his eyes. _~Don't call me Nine.~_

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

They slowly got used to him, but he didn't relax. One would try to talk to him about the past, his own, Joshua's, Two's, anybody's. And Joshua refused. They all knew that he was the third in the past-present-future triangle. They knew that his grip on his visions was stronger than One's and Six's. They _knew_ beyond a shadow of a doubt that he was Nine. But still he refused to allow them to call him that. But he did answer to it before slapping whoever it was that said it.

"Where are we going?" Seven asked irritably a couple months after Joshua had joined them.

_~We're going to go get that Lortab that Two wants. Plus Tylenol.~_ Joshua said.

"Where are we going to find that stuff? Zero?" Eight asked.

_~No. There's a pharmacy right down the street.~_

"The shelves are bare," Seven groused.

_~You couldn't get Lortab on the shelves anyway. You want the backstock.~_

"Backstock?"

_~Yep. This city had a lot of crime, so twenty years ago, they silently switched up the pharmacy system. There's a secret room below the main with lots of backstock. We have more than enough drugs of every kind to last long after we're gone. You'd need to be a genius hacker with a lot of time on your hands to get into even one of them. Unless you're me, of course. I have the system figured out down to the tiniest detail. Ah, here we are.~_

They got thirteen kinds of medication, at least five bottles each. The door sealed behind them as they walked out…right into another group. They looked down at the bag.

"Whatcha got there, Nine?" the head boy asked.

Seven and Eight blinked and looked at their companion. They had a very sudden, very bad feeling that they were about to find out why Joshua didn't want to be called Nine. Joshua slowly gave Eight the bag.

_~You will get home. I'll distract them.~_

_~We're not leaving you, Josh.~_ Seven said fiercely. _~We can't lead them home, so let's run!~_

They took off rapidly, and the males were after them. Seven was snagged by her hair, and she screamed. She broke an arm, and Joshua punched her captor in the face before the head boy grabbed him, stripping his shirt off.

"Let's see 'em, _Nine_!"

He was thrown on the ground, hitting his head hard enough to be knocked out, and Seven and Eight stared in horror at the flesh of Joshua's back. Or more specifically, what was in it. They flushed at the mocking laughter and attacked, sending them away in under a minute with their tails between their legs. Eight gingerly picked up Joshua, and they got home as fast as they could. One saw them and was over there in a second flat. Seven handed Two the backpack.

"We got everything you wanted…and what we thought we did, too."

"What are you talking about? What happened to Joshua?" One demanded.

"He needs a bed," Eight said blankly. He lay Joshua on his stomach in One's room, and One cut off mid-sentence, staring in shock at the scars on his friend's back. The others filtered in, eyes glued on the large number that had clearly been brutally carved into the boy's back. One whimpered, lightly covering him up then laying beside him, holding him close.

"Go and make hamburgers. He seems to like those a lot," he whispered.

They all left except for Two, who treated the bleeding head wound then kissed him. One lay there for an hour until his little boy shifted, making a noise of confusion and pain that grated like all of his noises did.

"Shh, it's okay. I'm here."

_~I'm not wearing a shirt.~_

"No. You're not. But we don't hate you. We would never make fun of you for it. It's okay to hurt for us."

_~I'm fine. I want a shirt and I want food.~_

One retrieved a shirt, and Joshua quickly pulled it on then went out to eat. The air was very odd as they ate. One knew what was coming. They all did. Everybody but Joshua, apparently. They just had to wait. Joshua finished eating then went to his corner. But he didn't picked up his notebook. He just stared at nothing. One slowly walked over, kneeling down.

"You shouldn't fight it, Joshua. It just makes it worse."

_~I'm not crazy…~_

"Of course you're not. That doesn't mean it doesn't hurt. It's okay to scream if it hurts."

A strangled noise came from Joshua's throat and he began to shake. Eight hurried over, pulling him into his lap. Joshua looked around at the encouraging faces. They weren't smiling, but they told him that it was okay to hurt. It was okay to let them know how much his brain hurt. They would…be there.

He screeched as loud as he could, so that his throat hurt badly, losing himself for the first time to the pain that had clawed at his brain for three years. He was shaking and soft grunts left him by the time the fit subsided.

"See? Isn't that better?" One asked gently, taking his limp form into his arms. "Do you feel better, Joshua?"

There was silence as he struggled to come back to himself then he swallowed. _~You can call me Nine if you want.~_

He was handed a cup of wine. "Drink slowly," One said firmly. "And only if you want us to."

_~I don't like the name…from most people. They make fun of me because of…of my back.~_

"We would never do that," Five said, sounding offended.

"However…I do believe we would like to know what happened," Two said slowly.

_~Please, not tonight. I'm sore. My throat hurts. I want a bath and I want to go to bed.~_ Nine looked desperate.

"Here, Six, help me get him bathed," One said.

They walked him into the bathroom and stripped him down. They lightly skimmed his scars while the tub filled then lifted him gently in. Ten minutes later, he had on a pair of shorts and was snuggled into One's bed. Once his leader had had a nice shower, he slipped into bed beside him and tugged him close.

_~I like being with you.~_ Nine said with a yawn. _~You make me feel safe…~_

"That's the way it's supposed to be," One said happily.

_~Night David.~_

Nine was asleep by the time One registered that he hadn't been called One. His brain spasmed as a name came to his mind very sharply.

_"Run, David!"_

_"Get back here boy!" BOOM!_

_"Mom!"_

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

One had downed almost a whole pot of coffee in thirty minutes. He'd made a fresh pot, which was done in time for Two to walk in. His smile froze, and One's vitals were suddenly being taken.

"You look awful," Seven said as she walked in with the others, yawning.

"David."

Everybody blinked at him. "What?" Two asked.

"My name is David. David Trent Jennings. I…I know why I was in the asylum. Nine was right. Your name is enough. Oh…My brain hurts…" One grabbed his head, tears in his eyes.

_~I'm sorry...I thought you could handle it.~_ Nine said in a tiny voice. They all turned to see that he was shirtless, though clearly wishing he had something to cover his back. One gestured him forward. Nine sat there, hunched over and embarrassed. The red-eyed man lightly touched him, holding his hands.

"I'm going to ask you a few questions. Once I'm done, I will probably go into convulsions. It isn't your fault. Okay?"

Nine nodded.

"I was Catholic until I was eight." One paused so Nine nodded. "My father stayed orthodox, but my mother and I were turned to Protestantism." Another nod. "When I was fourteen, my father found out." A nod. "And he shot and killed my mother and gave me the bullet scar on my stomach."

There was silence as Nine nodded again. _~Yes, One. And your mind couldn't handle your best friend being gone. You descended into madness, trying out several different worlds until Two came into your life and played along. You selected one where you wouldn't have to remember anything of your past life, and Two was happy to oblige. One by one the others joined you, except for Six, who has a unique problem amongst you, though he did play along until he was like the others. I…couldn't. I see the past. I'm cursed with knowing how we got there. Even if I try to do what Six did, the memories come back with a fierce violence. I have to know.~_

One was trembling at this point. "I just have to know, what's different about you?"

_~I'm a freak.~_

One's body contracted and he screamed in pain. Nine curled up next to him ten minutes later as he rested. One kissed him sloppily then slurred.

"You're not a freak, Nine. You're my little Stitchpunk."

Nine grunted, hiding his face in One's chest, feeling insecure. One was happy to cuddle him. Two came in with a pill.

"I am pleased to say you get Tylenol!" he said jovially. One gladly took it, relaxing back to snuggle some more. He found his fingers tracing Nine's bare back. Nine stiffened and blushed, wriggling in discomfort. One shushed him.

"I'm not going to make fun of you. Relax. Let me see?"

Nine shivered as he slowly turned over. He was so taut, trembling hard as fingers danced over the scars. One's eyes took in the mangled flesh. The large nine wasn't the only scar. There were two smaller nines…

"Are you a Christian?"

_~I-I'm not sure. I was.~_

"So…those aren't nines, are they?"

_~N-no. They're not…~_

One hummed, kissing the back of his head and pulling him flush against him. "It doesn't matter. We love you, Nine. Are we going to help the others remember?"

_~One at a time except for the twins. There needs to be relaxation between them. They will be stressful for all of us.~_

"Agreed. Two is next," One yawned. "I'm so tired…"

_~Sleep. I'll be here, for what it's worth.~_

"You're worth so much, Nine…So much…"

One fell asleep, holding him tightly. Five walked in to see Nine lying there, staring at One and crying. He didn't know what to do…so he left and reported his findings.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Two was sitting by One and Eight, being stroked in reassurance. Nine sat right in front of him, looking embarrassed. One had asked him not to wear a shirt so he could understand that they loved him deeply and didn't care about his scars. He was struggling with that.

"Alright, Nine. What's my name?" Two's voice was shaking.

_~Jonathan Scott Brown.~_

Two spasmed, eyes squeezing shut. "I came from a family of lawyers…"

_~You did.~_

"I'm a prodigy…"

_~You are.~_

"I was in college. Too much work. My brain hurt, and the doctors didn't believe me. So I studied physical causes. It wasn't any kind of headache. I had no tumors. I couldn't place it. I started feeling numb, unheard, so…I cut myself. Ended up in the hospital. My parents caused such a fuss…I felt like I couldn't cut myself anymore, and my brain hurt more and more. I didn't want to live that life. So my parents silently put me into an asylum, saying I was studying abroad. Th-they lied. I-I-I…I wanted the ignorance that One had so I…let him…let him…"

Two screamed, grabbing his head as tears slid down his cheeks. One held him tightly, telling him it was alright to be in pain, to scream. Hands stroked him, voices cooed at him, until he was a limp wreck. He was pulled into One's lap.

"Shh, we're here. See? Your parents aren't here. We are. And we love you. We love you so much…"

Two made a noise that sounded like Nine, clutching at One like his life depended on it. He finally sat up, wiping his eyes. One kissed him.

"Better?"

"Yeah. Thanks. I…I need a drink…"

A glass of wine was handed to him, and he drank half of it in one gulp before staring into the cup. He then shyly held out his left wrist to his leader. One took it and observed a long line that went across the flesh right below where his hand met his wrist.

"What is this?" Five asked, tracing the scar.

"It's where I cut myself. It's where I almost bled out."

Five frowned but gently stroked the pale line. "We're glad you didn't die."

Two nodded then sighed. "Thank you. All of you. Including you, Nine."

Nine blushed, but he felt pleased. Later, when he showed why Three and Four were mute, they also thanked him. Five thanked him, too, after it was revealed that his parents thought he was a mistake. Six and Seven were just as grateful for the revelation that they were raped, though they had hollow eyes. Eight inclined his head when it was revealed that he'd murdered somebody, and that was thanks enough. Nine was happy.

"So, you still feel like you don't belong in an asylum?" One asked after all was said and done.

Nine shrugged. _~Yeah. I guess I do. But it's nice to be surrounded by crazy people. Especially you.~_

One nodded and pulled him in for a warm embrace. "We love you, you know. We really do. No matter what happened to you, you'll always be Nine."

Nine nodded, and he noticed with great joy that his brain no longer hurt as badly. It was a good day, you know, despite the fact the world was over.


End file.
